Allow me to clarify the question a little bit more. If there's a new movie that's been adapted from another source ie books, TV, videogames, do you try to watch, read or play the the original source?

Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:02 am

Patrick

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

As for me, I rarely seek them out. I don't want to be that guy who cries that things were changed even if it was for the better. I hate those guys and if I do that, I'll be everything I ever hated.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:04 am

PeachyPete

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Most of the time I check them out for the purpose of comparison. I like to try to figure out why the remake was made and if a filmmaker has made any good changes.

I do agree with Patrick though. The people who complain, complain, complain about this and that being changed piss me off to no end. Of course things were changed, why else would you remake something? The same things apply to people with comic book movies too. They love to begin sentences with, "Well in the comic..." Well this is the movie. Accept what's onscreen even if it's different. Try to look at it as its own work, not purely as how you know/knew it.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:20 am

Vexer

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Meh, if I'm not already familiar with a film's sourc ematerial, then the chances of me checking it out are pretty low because all I really care about is if the film itself entertains me, I REALLY couldn't care less how faithful it is to it's source material and like you guys said I HATE people who complain nonstop about that sort of thing, those who complain about video game adaptions are especially annoying.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 12:12 pm

Sexual Chocolate

Director

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:04 pmPosts: 1754Location: New Hampshire

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

On occasion I do. How faithful a film is to the source material isn't the most important issue to me; Kubrick's version of The Shining tossed out a lot of Stephen King's plot, but it was a very good film on its own merits.

On the subject of King adaptations...the TV version of The Stand was rather faithful to the book, but it was pretty bad.

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Wed Aug 04, 2010 1:10 pm

Blonde Almond

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Most of the time I try not to read original source material, although I did read Shutter Island a few years back when it was first announced that Scorcese was going to be adapting it.

I try to view books and films as two separate mediums. Sometimes it's hard to do, but when a film makes changes to the source material, I'm generally not upset about it.

I did recently have an interesting discussion with a friend who hates Spielberg's adaptation of Minority Report because it differs substantially from the original Philip K. Dick story. I haven't read the original source material, but from his description of it, it sounded rather downbeat and amibiguous, which admittedly would have been interesting. My defense was that the film still works as its own stand-alone piece, regardless of the changes to the material. It's a summer blockbuster from Steven Spielberg; of course there are going to be changes. Personally, I think it's one of Spielberg's best films.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 2:44 pm

majoraphasia

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Sometimes I'll check out the source (usually a book as movies are rarely adapted from anything else) but, given the kind of book Hollywood usually adapts, I'll gladly forego a reading in favor of letting the movie speak for the material. That is if I bother seeing the movie at all.

In the case of Never Let Me Go and some other novels I usually won't bother seeing the movie at all as I don't care one way or another how the adaptation comes out.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:05 pm

majoraphasia

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Sexual Chocolate wrote:

On the subject of King adaptations...the TV version of The Stand was rather faithful to the book, but it was pretty bad.

That may have more to do with King being an author of terrible novels rather than anything else.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:07 pm

Sexual Chocolate

Director

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:04 pmPosts: 1754Location: New Hampshire

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

majoraphasia wrote:

That may have more to do with King being an author of terrible novels rather than anything else.

The Stand was a pretty good novel, in my humble opinion. But I'll definitely agree that the quality of his work has fallen off over the past 15-20 years.

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Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:26 pm

Robert Holloway

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

A sad omission on my part. I never read a book before a movie. I just don't want to spoil the experience. And yes, I've had the discussions and I don't think movies are better or worse than books. I just fell in love with movies.

Rob

Fri Aug 06, 2010 6:53 pm

Ken

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Rarely, and more by coincidence than anything else. It's not often that a film motivates me to check out the book, or vice versa.

That said, I do have a bone to pick. While some people who unfavorably compare adaptations to their source material are definitely nitpicking and fetishizing the small details, it's grossly unfair to paint others with the same brush. After all, if an adaptation misses some crucial point that was inherent in the source material, is that not a valid thing to criticize?

If they adapted Citizen Kane into a stage musical, or Singing in the Rain into a novel, would you not miss Citizen Kane's cinematic inventiveness or Singing in the Rain's song-and-dance numbers?

Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:41 pm

Patrick

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Ken wrote:

That said, I do have a bone to pick. While some people who unfavorably compare adaptations to their source material are definitely nitpicking and fetishizing the small details, it's grossly unfair to paint others with the same brush. After all, if an adaptation misses some crucial point that was inherent in the source material, is that not a valid thing to criticize?

And that is very true and a valid point. It's just...those guys that I hate and I fear becoming.

Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:45 pm

majoraphasia

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Ken wrote:

That said, I do have a bone to pick. While some people who unfavorably compare adaptations to their source material are definitely nitpicking and fetishizing the small details, it's grossly unfair to paint others with the same brush. After all, if an adaptation misses some crucial point that was inherent in the source material, is that not a valid thing to criticize?

Definitely. To spin it differently, when the source material is improved upon by leaps and bounds (Fight Club, Bringing Out The Dead) an angel spurts out its wings.

Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:38 pm

Sexual Chocolate

Director

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:04 pmPosts: 1754Location: New Hampshire

Re: Poll #63: Doing the research for film adaptations

Ken wrote:

That said, I do have a bone to pick. While some people who unfavorably compare adaptations to their source material are definitely nitpicking and fetishizing the small details, it's grossly unfair to paint others with the same brush. After all, if an adaptation misses some crucial point that was inherent in the source material, is that not a valid thing to criticize?

It's a fair point to make. major brought this up above (and I think Fight Club is a good example), but I recently re-read the David Morrell novel First Blood, and think that is an excellent example to use here as well. In short First Blood the novel is vastly different from the film, especially at the end; the film's overall tone is very, very far from what Morrell wrote. But taken on its own terms, First Blood the film isn't too bad...just different.

_________________Death is pretty finalI'm collecting vinylI'm gonna DJ at the end of the world.

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